Socialist Crackup

BRITAIN’S former man in Brussels has revealed EU member states are panicking over how they will fill funding gaps once Britain leaves the union.

Weeks after Sir Ivan Rogers warned there is likely to be hostility towards Britain in Brexit talks, the ex-Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union met the Government’s Brexit committee.

Speaking to the Exiting the European Union Committee Sir Ivan said finance ministers across the bloc are racing to consider how they will raise cash after Britain leaves the EU.

He said: “As far as they’re concerned we’ve lobbed a grenade into the budget because they now have to start examining whether their funds go round for the period up until 2020 now, rather than waiting until 2019.

“They have all got a problem.

“Every finance minister in the 27 is doing a calculation of how far out of pocket they are going to be as a result of the British exit.”

Sir Ivan Rogers said his Dutch counterpart warned they could have to front €450m euros, which could hit public pockets hard.